Cassius Galdeon was kept one of Hogwarts' biggest secrets for most of her young life, but her presence became known when she was discovered one night by none other than Harry Potter himself, and her life of darkness was brought into the light at last. All seemed well, until what was believed to be a wondrous change turned out to be the very thing that was feared the most. Now, her life and fate in the hands of her natural father, Lucius Malfoy, Harry and his friends must race to save her, before the world as they know it comes to an end...
Disclaimer: 'The Secret Tower' is an ongoing 'Harry Potter' fanfic series, and is not meant to be an exact replica of the original series. Aside from a few, all characters were created by, and are property of, J.K. Rowling, author of the original 'Harry Potter' series. I claim no rights to any persons, places, or spells depicted in this story that were originally penned by Mrs. Rowling, only those that are of my own creation.
"NO!" cried Hermione Granger, her eyes wide with fright.
Lucius Malfoy threw his head back and laughed, his cold blue eyes dancing as he looked back down at her. "Oh, but my dear little Mudblood," he said almost gleefully, "yes! In just six days time, the Dark Lord will take my precious daughter as his bride, and their union will bring the Villdawicks and the Dark Order together, bringing forth the largest, most powerful force that your thick little brain could ever possibly imagine!"
"Why won't you do something?!" Ron Weasley raged at Dumbledore, who had been standing, the entire time, at the entrance to the Great Hall, merely watching the events that had just taken place. "Why don't you stop him?!"
"There is nothing he can do," Lucius sneered. "Even the magnificent Dumbledore is helpless against fate, and he knows it."
"You won't get away with this," growled Harry Potter, who was glaring hatefully up at Lucius.
Lucius raised an eyebrow at him in feigned interest. "Won't I? Look here, boy. You may have been successful in defeating the Dark Lord twice before, but the odds were fairly even then. When you came face-to-face with him and his faithful servants, it was quite a bit more difficult, wasn't it? Fortunately for you, Mummy and Daddy made a special appearance and saved your pathetic little life.
"But now...Add an army of the most powerful, most feared vampires in the world, and your chances of survival are completely obliterated."
Harry shook his head in disbelief, looking desperately at Dumbledore. "How can you just stand there and let this happen?!" he cried.
"I'm afraid, Harry," said Dumbledore sadly, "that Lucius is right. There is nothing I can do."
Harry turned on Lucius. "You...you've been planning this all along, haven't you?" he asked coldly.
"How very perceptive of you, Potter," Lucius replied, narrowing his eyes. "We have all been patiently waiting for this event for many years. Admittedly, the fall of the Dark Lord brought great worry that our work was for naught, but now that he is risen once more, dear Cassius' fate is sealed."
Ron jumped to his feet, facing Dumbledore. "I don't understand! Why is there nothing you can do?"
"I worried for many years that something like this would happen," Dumbledore replied. "But, I had expected merely the Villdawicks to come and attempt to take Cassius. We, the teachers, worked hard, ever since Cassius was a small child, to prepare for that day. But this is far worse than I ever could have possibly imagined. To have not just the Villdawicks, but Voldemort, as well...I was not prepared for something so horribly severe..."
"Brilliant, isn't it?" asked Lucius happily, his chest puffing out with pride. "Now, I'd love to stay and chat, but..." he smiled mischievously, "I have a wedding to plan."
Sweeping away toward the entrance, Lucius paused for a moment beside his son, Draco Malfoy, who had watched the whole scene, his eyes wide with shock.
"Problem, Draco?" he asked, looking at Malfoy carefully. Malfoy quickly shook his head, and smiled.
"None at all, Father," he said in a somewhat proud tone. He looked back at the ruins of the Gryffindor table, and the spot where Cassius had stood before Lucius had cast the Imperious Curse over her, and had the Occamy carry her away. "Quite impressive."
Lucius smiled thinly at him, and continued on his way, casting a sideways glance at Dumbledore as he passed.
Hermione buried her face in her hands and cried, her sobs echoing in the empty hall. Harry looked around him at the mess of broken glass, splintered wood, shattered platters and goblets, and suddenly began to shake his head hard.
"No," he said firmly, turning to face Dumbledore, his eyes blazing. "This is not going to happen. I won't let it."
"Harry," Dumbledore said gently. "What can you possibly do? You may be a match for Voldemort one-on-one, but Lucius was right. When you add in the whole of the Villdawick clan to the equation, there is almost no possibility of succeeding."
"Almost," repeated Harry. "There's still a chance. And I am going to take it. Even," he added, looking over his shoulder at Hermione and Ron, "if I have to do it alone."
"You won't, Harry," said Ron, coming to stand beside him. A moment later, Hermione appeared at his other side, her cheeks stained with tears. She simply nodded, placing a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder. They all looked to Dumbledore.
The old wizard felt a surge of affection as he gazed back at the three of them. For a fleeting moment, he thought to himself, Perhaps...
"W-what's going on?" came a voice from the front of the room. They all turned to see Snape, who was just getting slowly, groggily, to his feet, a thin line of blood trickling down his forehead.
Dumbledore took a deep breath. "I think perhaps you should hurry off to the hospital wing, Severus," he said. "I'm afraid I have bad news, and it would best be heard lying down."
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~SP
